Posted on 09/17/2004 5:43:39 AM PDT by grellis
Its getting to be that time of year again! Hacking cough, nose running like a faucet, bleary eyes, and the dreaded "Mom, I don't feel so good..." (baaaaaaarf!). Cold and flu season...coming soon to a household near you!
What are some of the OTC medicines you swear by? Which ones have proven to be miserable failures? How about home remedies? Does anyone have a really great recipe for crock pot chicken soup they'd like to share? When do you draw the line at home treatment and head to the doctor's office? Be as specific as you can, especially with the OTC meds. There's a lot of garbage out there, let's separate the wheat from the chaff.
Thanks for the tip on the Patches, I'll have to try them.
Thanks for the consideration. I am interested.
Good Morning!
I agree on the sudafed and the one thing we use a lot of in the winter (dh and me, too) is Robitussin plain (guaifenesin)....the generics work too, but seem like they taste worse. "Equate" brand of guaifenesin gives me heartburn.
I use this anytime the kids have a cold that seems like the secretions are getting thick.....which for us usually leads to a doctor's office visit for sinusitis or ear infection if I do nothing..... I give it as frequently as the dosage chart allows and push lots of clear liquids, it normally takes only a day or two of this. Guaifenesin thins secretions so that they can drain out and not fester and get infected.
Sometimes a little sudafed helps move them along. We use Robitussin PE for this (guaifenesin plus sudafed), but it's prolly more expensive than giving a separate generic sudafed/generic guafenesin.
The fluids are really very important for clearing out congestion.....the medicine won't thin secretions very well, if there are not enough fluids circulating.
When do I go to the doctor? It depends on the kid. With my youngest, who was very sick with RSV as a newborn, it's usually at the drop of a hat! LOL He's 2.5 now and was needing a nebulizer treatment (albuterol) daily until last February.
With my school age kids....my son is prone to bronchitis, and he has a certain cough....when it refuses to clear up using the recipe above, I know he needs antibiotics and I take him in. My second daughter is very stoic so just about any time she complains I watch her closely for a day or two, if no better I take her in. She has had some wicked strep infections, and ear infections.
My preschooler is also stoic and usually any time she runs a fever it's something that needs to be seen.
My teenager is very hardy, but when she starts sinus symptoms it's time for antibiotics. If she would drink fluids (water, juice, gatorade) and take the guaifenesin she could head it off, but she is *very* stubborn about this. All she will drink is caffeinated soda and that just does not work.
My friend from the Philippines knows a lot of herbal remedies...she swears by garlic (raw) and ginger tea. I've had good results with eating garlic when I feel something coming on. I slice up a clove into three or four chunks and swallow them like pills. Should prolly do this every day, but dislike the "side-effects" :)
Oh! and hot showers....when they get that crusty nose, sinusitis look....long hot showers with a good nose blowing *right* after to get that stuff outta there.
And saline nose sprays, too. I buy the cheap store brand, under a buck apiece. Put everyone's name on their own bottle, with the date opened. I throw them out and start over every few months, or after an infection.
Also put some Hot salsa in soups to keep the sinuses open and soothes sore throat. Gargling with vinegar, if you can stand it, helps sore throat.
Baths with the baby soap that smells like Vicks is soothing, too.
Fixing up some screamin' hot soup as we speak and took the pills last night-I refuse to let this cold take hold!
This week, my 5-year-old, Ethan, had a sickness that's been going around here in Southwest Missouri. He had a fever to 104, ear ache, sore throat, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and body aches.
Because his fever was so high, I took him to see the physician's assistant that we use as our "family doctor". According to the PA, who has seen a lot of this stuff lately, some cases of this illness are bacterial and some cases seem to be viral - usually the viral illnesses don't have the high fever spike that the bacteria-based cases have. He gave Ethan Zithromax (the once-a-day antibiotic) and it really has worked well. After one dose, his fever went down to normal and hasn't spiked since. Tylenol and Motrin weren't helping much with the fever, so it had to be the Zithromax. He was able to go back to school yesterday and has two more doses of the antibiotic left.
Medications that I find that generally work well for my boys are: Pediacare, Triaminic chewables (there are several different ones for sore throat, cough, congestion, etc.) and some of the Equate brand knockoffs of more expensive drugs, like Sudafed and Tylenol Cold and Sinus.
Incidentally, the Equate knockoff of Claritin-D is really good and lots cheaper than Claritin-D, too! Equate brands are available at Wal-Mart. As a general rule, I find Motrin to be more effective for fever than Tylenol.
Most of the time, I buy store brands of ibuprofen and acetaminophen, but I have noticed that Motrin IB works better for my shoulder pain than the cheaper store brands do. My friend, who is a pharmacist, explained that the store brands sometimes use cheaper binding agents than the name brands do, and these cheaper binding agents sometimes don't let the active ingredients in the medications work as well as the active ingredients do in the name brands.
Ya'll have a nice weekend. I've got to get back to work.
'Mornin everyone!
Agreed on the saline nose spray - my MIL turned me on to it and we have had a dramatic decrease in colds between hubby and I. Our one-year old has only been sick once, which was during the three months I went back to work and he was in daycare he picked up RSV. It was scary because it lasted so long. The doctor said use Pediacare but it seemed to make the baby breathe really fast and his heart beat increased so I called and they said don't use it again. We used the saline spray 4 or 5 times a day along with the bulb aspirator and that was very helpful, along with infant tylenol. He hasn't been sick since, but at the first sign of a runny or crusty nose we break out the saline spray and go crazy with it, and he clears right up.
My husband has only been sick once in the six years I've known him, and basically he retreats to a dark room for a few days and wants nothing but sleep - I can't get him to take anything, it's so frustrating. As for me, at the first sign of a scratchy throat or runny nose, I spread a ton of that minced garlic from a jar on some crackers or bread, topped liberally with Frank's Red Hot sauce and just eat til I can't take it anymore. Works most of the time, but boy does it give me bad breath!
Unfortunately, or fortunately, my children will not take medicine--they hate it, so usually they just hunker down in their beds and sleep when they are sick--when the fever is persistant and they are miserable though, I insist on tylenol.
I take them in only when their fever is high AND they are lethargic or wheezing in the chest/trouble breathing or if they have been throwing up for more than 24 hours and can't even keep water down.
As for chicken soup--I just kind of throw things together--no real recipe.
Good morning.
You reminded me. When I am sick, I can't take squat because of blood pressure probs. Most things like sudafed make the bp higher so I can't take much of anything--argh!
Are you talking to knock them out as a one time deal or when they are sick or what? My son is autistic and has a horrible time getting to sleep. We give him the lowest dose of melatonin and he's out within an hour of taking it. It has been a God send to us!
Are your kids early talkers Tax? I can't believe James says words already. Obviously one of mine due to his disability rarely talks and he'll be 5 in March, but even my talkaholic 6 yr old daughter didn't say a word here or there until after 1, a couple months after 1. Now Jake will be 4 months on Wednesday and he coos and babbles right too you. A new phenomenon to me!
Hey nets, Ryan is also allergic to mosquito bites, not to the hives point, but he gets a big bump when he gets them--he had one on his forehead that looked like he ran into something and hit his head.
Ahh, you aren't alone. Mine despise medicine and would rather feel cruddy instead of take medicine.
James will be 8 months old on Sunday. Josie was using clear words in phrases at this age (and hasn't shut up since!) The boys don't always talk so early. Tom didn't say anything except "Hi" and "No" until he was almost 2, and then one day started speaking in sentences!
nets, you can get cranberry extract tablets and they taste good too. I have used them with Ryan when I thought he was getting a rash that might have been more yeast like in origin(reddish on the privates) and it cleared right up. I get mine from Kirkman's online, but you can probably get them at a GNC or Hi Health too.
If i have a bad cold or flu, I like Theraflu. The lemony flavored one. You drink the nasty hot stuff while FReeping, then climb into bed. You WILL sleep!
Man, the germy school. I hear you, but I have to say, mine have improved with their immunity SINCE going to school. We had a lot of illnesses the first few months, but since then, they seem to not get things as easily. They both stayed home since birth prior to that though so perhaps they just never really had their systems challenged so we got hammered with it the first few months. I had always heard that the first year of the school is always the worse with getting sick and that has been the case with my children. I still worry though about what they'll bring home to the baby even though they may not catch it. That gives me the willies!
We also use the saline nose spray. Jake gets boogers--I mean real boogers--baby ones still, but he needs help poor guy--LOL. I use the saline spray to loosen then up and then plunge. Keeps him clear and clean. He HATES getting his nose plunged though and now he's kicking and moving his hands on mine, it is getting harder and harder to do.
Melissa was like your son. She said hardly anything and then at 2, she was talking about everything in sentences. That is what kept me from giving any credibility to my suspicions about Ryan because I thought he was like his sister and would just talk late. Now Jacob, good gravy, he coos, babbles and does it while look right into your face and waits for a pause to do it in--expressions and all. I could be wrong, but it seems like he would likely be on his way to being one of those early talkers too. Any new pics of James? I'll let you all know next week's freeper table Jake's stats--his 4 mos. appt is on Wed.
I know what you mean - my husband and I have to take turns holding the baby's arms down while the other suctions out his nose. That has to be so uncomfortable for the little guy, poor thing.
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